(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Yesterday we established that Spokane likes its quality beer, and therefore the results of the "Best Brewery" category should come with few surprises as far as the winner goes...

1	- (1)	Laughing Dog Brewing
2	·	Budge Brothers
3	·	12 String Brewing Co
4	(2)	Northern Lights Brewing Co
5	(3)	Golden Hills Brewing Co
6	(4)	Coeur d'Alene Brewing Co

... however, that's not to say there weren't any surprises at all there.

Laughing Dog, though, is without much doubt the best brewery in the area, though it might be a stretch to call it "local". Local-ish. Hey, we have no regrets including it! It's a great brewery, one that can stand shoulder to shoulder with many to most national ones.

The surprises came from two new entries -- Budge Brothers and 12 String Brewing Co -- which shoehorned themselves between Laughing Dog and last year's number two, Northern Lights.

I've yet to sample Budge Brothers' ales, but recently had a chance to check out 12 String, which is an instantly promising brewery.

They go hand in hand with the advent of great ale houses, these new breweries, showing that the region is taking the craft beer "revolution" (really, it has been more of an evolution) seriously.

As for wineries...

1	(2)	Robert Karl Cellars
2	(1)	Barrister Winery
3	- (3)	Townshend Cellar
4	·	Trezzi Farm
5	·	Mountain Dome Winery
6	(4)	Arbor Crest

They duked it out last year and it was close again, but this time Barrister's justice was not rough enough to take out Robert Karl. Townshend Cellar, meanwhile, sat put as the region's third best winery, followed by two bullets from Trezzi Farm and Mountain Dome.

Overall it seems people quite enjoy local wines. The category was, going by the average of weighted scores, the fourth highest ranked one. Not too shabby.

Tomorrow: Best Coffee Shop and Coffee Roaster.

Here it is, the first category of our best of...: Best Bar! Hundreds of you voted, so let's just jump straight into it and see what you consider the best bars in Spokane:

1	·	Jones Radiator
2	(3)	The Hop Shop
3	·	Bon Bon
4	(1)	The Lantern Tavern
5	(4)	The Elk/The Two Seven
6	·	Brews on Washington
7	(6)	The Viking
8	(5)	Zola
9	·	nyNe Bar and Bistro

(We chose to do a top nine here, because nyNe was number nine. Get it? Nine? It's hilarious.)

And hitting number one with a bullet is Jones Radiator, a bar that opened just after last year's voting, and one that has quickly become the stop of choice for the region's beer nerds.

In fact, if you want to look at things that have improved in Spokane over the past few years, we have obviously turned into a town that respects quality beer. Jones, The Hop Shop, The Lantern, The Elk/Two Seven, Brews on Washington, The Viking.... Six out of ten here are pretty much all about beer, good beer. Even Zola has a respectable selection.

Other things of interest: Last year's number one fell down three places in what was a close race, and high class liquor spot Bon Bon, made its SpoCOOL debut at number three. Brews on Washington, which has been opened the shortest amount of time of the bars on this list made an impressive debut in the top six. 

So there you have it, the people have spoken: We love Jones, and the libation of choice for many is a good quality beer. We can get behind that.

Tomorrow we'll continue the best of... with Best Winery and Best Brewery.

PS: A lot of establishments asked for plaques/diplomas/certificates to show they were voted among the best establishments in Spokane. If you're on of the spots listed, and you're interested, e-mail team@spocool.com and we'll hook you up.

Well, votes have been coming in a lot faster than we had expected, which, of course, is awesome, and therefore we will close our Best of 2011 voting sometime during the Thanksgiving break. Exactly when will it happen? No-one knows! Therefore, stragglers, you should run and vote.

We will reveal the top six-es of each category sometime throughout the next week and even throw a few surprises into the mix, because that's just how we roll.

As for the current standings, they are interesting: Some predictable leaders, but also some big surprises, particularly when it comes to number twos and threes. But, of course, we're merely talking standings here, and everything can change. Everything! Everything... So vote if you haven't.

Here's a drinking game for when watching the two first (and probably third) Paranormal Activity movies, both available on Netflix:

• Take a drink when something happens.

Don't worry if you don't have anything to drink.